Today we had two amazing finds discovered which showed how much style and grace the roman women had. One whole and one half hair pin made out of bone was discovered in Trench D. The finds were small and very delicate, so it is amazing that they were discovered and we could still identify what they were.
Hair during the roman was a major determination of a females beauty and physical attractiveness (Bartman 2001). So the women wants to have hair pieces which made them look amazing got men to look at them. The roman women has some amazing funky hairstyles and the pins they used to hold the hair up would have been made out of anything that would catch someones eye. The pins which were found on site were found out of bone, which would probably have been from a domesticated animals and then craved into shape and size.
Photograph of broken hair pin found in Trench D (Copyright: Miles Russell, Bournemouth University).
However, other pins have been made made out of gold or silver. What the pin is made out of could closely be connected with what statues the women were and what they could afford. Women of a lower status might not have been able to afford valuable metals so they would use stuff they could easily get their hands on.
Photograph of full bone hair pin found in Trench D (Copyright: Miles Russell, Bournemouth University).
References:
Bartman, E., 2001. Hair and the Artifice of Roman Female Adornment. Archaeological Institute of America. 105(1), 1-15.